Rotary drilling-rig.



T. J. GRIFFIN.

ROTARY DRILLING RIG.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 13, 1913.

1,095,1 57. Patented A r. 28;1914.

T13 I F/7'7 7. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

T. J. GRIFFIN.

ROTARY DRILLING RIG.

APPLIOATION FILED 001. 13, 1913.

1 ,O9 5, 1 57. Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' Z62 blesses.- I /720672 tor T. J. GRIFFIN.

ROTARY DRILLING RIG.

APPLICATION FILED 0011s, 1913.

1,095,157. Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THOMAS J. GRIFFIN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

noTARY immune-RIG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 13, 1913. Serial No. 79 13839.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs- J. GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new anduseful Rotary Drilling-Rig, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a drilling rig of the rotary type.

One of the objects is to provide a screw. feed and so combine the parts that the clutches, brakes, and screw feed may all be operated by the driller without moving from his'regu-lar position. Former constructions necessitated another person to disengage the rotary clutch and assist in engaging and dis engaging the quick hoist.

Another object is to provide for stopping the movement of the quick hoist sprockets and chain, or the rotary table chainand sprockets, either individually or collectively when they are not being used, thereby removing a source of frequent injury to the operators and eliminating wear and noise and saving power. This makes it possible to select and operate the particular gearing needed for the work, without needlessl-yrunning the gearing not used.

Another object is to accomplish the control of the gearing with few levers and to provide for engaging and disengaging the quick hoist and engaging and disengaging the rotary table connection, or disengaging both with a single lever. Heretofore the en gine has been provided with sprockets of various sizes and to change the speed of the drum for quickhoisting or, slow hoisting the chain had to be removed and changed to I another sprocket on'the engine, all of which i is avoided by the present construction, which enables the speed of the drum to be instantly changed from slow hoist to quick hoist or vice-versa, by simply shifting a lever. Another object is to dispense with the clutch on the rotary table.

Another object is to enable both brake bands to be operated simultaneously by the driller" alone without an. assistant. Heretofore the driller could only operate one brake and when in handling heavystrings of .pipe and the second brake was needed, it was necessary to have an assistant to operate it.

Another important object isto provide a screw feed to perfectly controlthe downward feed of the drill pipe. Heretofore a screw. feed: has been occasionally employed on a light drilling rig, but it could not be used on rigs of larger type for heavier duty because the enga ement and disengagement of such screw eed required considerable time, which was dangerous because of the liability of the drill pipe slipping down before the driller could get his brake set.. The great weight ofthe drill pipe demands-a powerfulandf quick acting device to hold it Patented Apr. 28,1914.

and in changing the support from the brake to the screw feed or vice versa, the operation' must be instantaneous to prevent the plpe dropping,- and the present invention provides for instantaneously throwing the screw feed into or out of operative sustainmg relation to the drill: pipe, thereby entirely obviating the previous diificulty, and making it possible to-employ a screw feed in heavy duty with all its attendant advantages. Inh'eavy work during drilling-operationwith rigs heretoztore used, the driller hadto constantly holdthe brake lever, and the jar androtation of the rig constantly tends to loosen the brake, and it is a frequent occurrence for the drill pipe to slipand drop owing to this reason, even when the driller is holding'the brake. 'When' the drill pipe thus drops the drill rigidly engages the formation frequently before the driller can stop the engine, it ha'S tWIStGd the drill pipe off downin the hole; With the screw feed as herein provided the driller has perfect control of the lowerin of the drill pipe and the pipe cannot accidentally slip and drop.- As-the screw does not have to: be turned constantly to feed the drill pipe except when going-through very soft,formation, but only needs occasional turning, the

driller is free much of the time to move about onthe rig and is enabled 'to attend to any other duties without stopping'the drill'- ing operations Anotherobject is to throw the screw feed and slow hoist gearing into or out of operation witha; single lever.

Referring to the drawings: Figure I is a front elevationr'of the draw works, the floor of the derrick being shown in section. Fig.

2" is a side elevation of-the-m'echanism shown in Fig; 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the op-' posite side of the screw feed partly in section' on .line--w a:. in Fig. 1. Fig. 4- is a I tion' on a'reduced scaleof the mechanism shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the modified form of screw feed, showing the screw engaging with the worm wheel. Fi 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing t e screw released from the worm wheel. Fig. 9 is a perspective of the'screw supporting block.

Referring to Fig. 4:, showing the preferred form, 1 designates the rotary table mechanism in general, and 2 designates the rotary draw works. The rotary table mechanism 1' is rovided with the usual table 3, having a plpe gripping device 4, the particular construction of which has no bearing on the present invention.' 5 is the shaft having a pinion a meshing with a gear 6 on the table for operating the table, and the shaft 5 has a fixed sprocket 6, which is driven by a chain 7. Splined on the shaft 5 is a grooved collar 8, having a locking clutch member 9, which is adapted to be I interlocked with a stationary male locking I in suitable bearin s 15.

I clutch "member 11',- thereby :positively locking the shaft 5 from rotation.

. The chain 7 is driven by a sprocket 16 loosely mounted on a counter shaft 17 of the rotary draw works, the shaft 17 being djournaled in bearings 18. .The shaft 17 is driven by means of a chain 19 operated by the engine, not shown,-the chain 19 engaging a sprocket 2O fixed on shaft 17. 'In the operation ofthe rig, the counter shaft 17 is l constantly revolved, and through the medium of chain 7 the rotary shaft 5 is op-- erated when desired. Heretofore, in rotary rigs the 'chainy7 'has always constantly operated with the counter shaft 17, and in ,order to stop.the.'rotary table 3, it Was necessary to' disengage the operative driving relation of thechain with respect to the rotary shaft 5. As the rotarytable was located s'ome'distance from. the draw works,-

it necessitated the driller moving from his proper position at the draw works over to the table to -do this,- or calling anassistant to do it for him. Moreover, the constantly running. chain 7, which extended directly across-gthe floor of the derrick, was a constant menace to the safety of the workmen, and, many serious accidents have been caused by workmen accidentally coming in contact with it, it being especially dangerous on account of its proximity to the workmen constantly on the floor of the derrick when working with the tongs on the casing, for the chain 7 is right in the way. In the present invention, these objections are overcome. I provide a mechanism whereby the rotation of the chain 7 is stopped whenever the rotary table 3 is to be stopped, when desired, and this makes it perfectly safe for the workmen operating on the casing when the table is not rotated. Another great advantage is that by stopping the rotation of the chain, noise and wear is eliminated, and no power is wasted. In order to stop the operation of the chain 7, I provide a clutching means, which consists of a male clutch member 21 preferably formed as part of the hub of sprocket 16, and a female clutch member 22 is arranged to slide with a feather on counter shaft 17 The clutch member 22 is operated by a lever 23 pivoted at 24 and connected by a link 25 with a hand lever 26 pivoted at 27.. By operating hand lever 26, the clutch lever 22 may be instantly engaged or disengaged from clutch member 21, and thereby cause the sprocket 16 and chain 7 to operate or cease operation, as desired.

28 designates the drum, which is rigidly mounted on shaft 29 journaled in bearings 30. The drum 28 is provided with flanges 31, and around the respective flanges 31 are brake bands 32.and 33, one end of each brake band being rigidly connected to a shackle 34, and the other end of brake band 33 is connected to a crank 35 on a brake shaft 36, while the other end of brake band 32 is connected with a crank 37 on the brake shaft 36. The brake shaft 36 is operated by v a hand lever 38, which is arranged close to the hand lever 26 before referred to. The driller by operating the single lever 38 may apply both brake bands 32 and 33 simultaneously, thereby securing double the effective braking surface. Heretofore the two brake bands have been independently operated, the driller having to call an asand for controlling the lowering of the casing. It is desirable that the drum be capable of operating at different speeds in order to economize time in raising the casing, because of the number of joints of casing being lifted, and its corresponding weight varying. Therefore, when the greatest weight of casing is being handled, a slower hoisting movement is required, while as the number of joints decreases, and the weight lightens, the hoisting speed should be increased. Heretofore these different speeds of the drum have been secured by a plurality of sprockets on the engine shaft, and by throwing off chain 19 from one sprocket, and placing it on another to change the speed. Such operation was cumbersome, and time was lost in doing it. Moreover, it necessitated shutting down the engine, andtramping over the engine by hand totake off the chain. All of these objections are removed by the present invention, in which only one sprocket is required on the engine, and the chain 19 is constantly driven thereby, and the counter shaft 17 is given a regular uniform movement without stopping the engine, or changing the speed of the drum 28.

A sprocket 39 is rigidly secured to shaft 29, and is connected by a chain 40 with a sprocket 41 loosely mounted on shaft 17 and having amlutc'h member 42, which is adapted to be engaged by the clutch member 22 previously referred to, the latter being formed as a double clutch member for this purpose, so that by operating lever 26 in one direction, the clutch member 22 may be slid into engagement with sprocket 41 to cause the latter to rotate in unison with the counter shaft 17, and thereby through the medium of chain 40, impart rotation to shaft 29 and 'drum'28, at a speed corresponding to the relative size of sprockets 41 and 39. In the present embodiment these sprockets are designed to give a relatively quick hoisting speed to the drum 28, while by swinging the lever 26 in the opposite direction, the clutch member 22 may be engaged by the sprocket 16 to cause the latter to rotate with the shaft 17, and thereby drive the rotary table, or by swinging lever 26,into central position, the clutch member 22 may be moved into neutral position between both sprockets 41 and 16, so that neither ofthem are operative. These three functions are thus controlled by a single lever, and as will be hereinafter shown, it is never desired to operate the drum 28 by the quick hoisting gearing at the same time that the table is being rotated.

Loosely mounted on the shaft 29'is a large sprocket 43, which isconnected by a chain 44 with a small sprocket 45iri'gidly mounted on the counter shaft 17. Th'e hub of sprocket 43 is formed with a male clutch member 47, which is adapted to be engaged by a female double clutch member 48, whlch is splined on the drum shaft "29, and is operated by a leg lever 49 pivoted on a stationary vertical shaft '50,-'supported by a bracket 52. By shifting'lev'er 49 "to the right the clutch member-48 may be'eng'aged. with the sprocket 43 to cause the latter to rotate drum shaft '29, and impart'a relatively slow rotative'movement to the drum 28 By swinging leg lever to the left it dis I engages clutch member 48 from sprocket 43-15 and stops driving drumshaft 29.

Loosely mounted on drum shaft 29 is a worm wheel53, which is engaged by a screw 54 on shaft 55 operated by hand wheel 55. The

shaft 55 is journaled in a bracke't57 rigidly secured to the derrick frame 58. The bracket 57 may be constructed in two parts as shown. In the present form the screw 54 is constantly in engagement with worm wheel 53, and the latter is given an operative driving relation with the shaft 29 by means of the double clutch member 48 when the latter is shifted to the left by lever 49., When the parts are in position shown in Fig. l, the shaft 29 may be revolved through either quick or slow hoist gearing, or by the unwinding movement of drum 28 by the weight of the casing. Upon engaging clutch 48 with worm wheel 53, the drum 28 is stopped,.on account of engagement. of screw 54 with worm wheel 53, and rotation of the shaft 29 and drum may be controlled to any desired speed by rotating the hand wheel 56, the;

brake 38 having been released.

The operation of the rig may be briefly stated as follows: In commencing the operation it will be assumed that the drill pipe is to be withdrawn from a previously drilled hole of considerable depth, in order to replace the drill. This frequently has to be done. Then it will be assumed that the new drill has been put on, and the strin of tubing is to be'replaced, and the dri ling recommenced. It will be understood that the drill pipe is connected through the usual cable and blocks with thedrum 28.- The driller swings over lever 49 and clutches sprocket 43 with shaft 29, therebyimparting a slow and owerful hoisting rotation to the drum 28. e then releases brake lever 38 to throw of]? the brakes 32' and 33, and the drum 28 hoists the string of pipe the required Tdistance to enable a stand which is the length of pipe to be unscrewed. As soon as this height is attained, the brake lever. is applied. The lever' 49.. is then operatedto unclutch the sprocket 43, and the string of pipe is held in suspension only'by the brakes 32 and 33 long. enough to'a'pply an elevator orother sustaining means Then the driller j I releases his brake lever, relieving the strain to the-drum 28, and the tongsare then oper-" ated to unscrewthe standof'pipe, and after. thestandf'of. ipe has'been unscrewed, the

driller swings lever 49, to againf'clutch sprocket 43to. shaft 29, and. the slow hoist then raises the stand of pipe which :has been unscrewed a. few inches,"'or enough to clearthe strin of .pipelbelow. it, and thedriller. then app ies his brake and then operates lever 49. toxun cl utch sprocket ,43, and the],

string of pipe is then eased down 'to rest 'aoniit- "the derrick floor ,by' manipulating the brake lever'38, so that-the elevators can be disengaged therefrom from the top end of the stand of pipe. Then the driller releases his brake to permit the blocks to lower, and connects to the elevator, which has been previously applied to the string,,-. and then the 'slow hoist gearing is again operated to lift the string in the manner previously described, and the next stand isdisengaged in quick hoist gearing, consisting of sprockets 39, 41- and chain 40. After the new drill has been'applied, the string is to be placed in the hole for drllling. The driller operates the quick hoist to raige the block and tackle to the top of the-derrlck, and the upper end of the stand is attached,and then lowered down into the hole in this way, the descent being controlled by the brake, and as soon as "the first stand is down, its length,- it is supported in position by the table or other brake.

means, and then the second stand is picked up and placed in position over the first stand and screwed theretofand then the string thus formed of twostands is lifted either by the slow hoist or quick hoist gearing a few inches in order to disengage the supporting means. Then the brake is applied and the'hoist disenga ed and the string allowed to descend un er the control of the I In like manner the succeeding stands are applied to the string, and when I the length of the string increases so that it is very heavy the slow hoist gearing,is\employed each time to'lift the string the few inches necessary for the disengagement of the supporting means. When the string has reached the bottom of the hole, it is held thereby means of the brake, and lever 26 is operated to engage sprocket 16 with shaft- .17, and thereby start the rotary table, and

as the drill pipe is thus operated by the .table, the drilllng proceeds and the drill. pipe descends at a rate controlled by the i, .brake, which is manipulated by the driller. As the drill gets to work and in a hard formation, then lever 49 is operated to engage 'clutch 48and to lock shaft 29'-to the worm wheel53,and at this time the driller releases the brake entirely and the weight of the pipe. is fcarried by the engagement of the worm wheel 53 with screw 54. The driller j as desired. The screw is so powerful that it can then regulate the descent of the pipe by turning the hand wheel 56 and operating screw 54 to either lower or raise the pipe is possible to raise the string of'pipe with'it if desired. In drilling the driller does not have to constantly keep his hand onthe wheel 56, as it need only occasionally be turned, and this gives him a better op ortunity to move about the derrick to ten to other necessary duties without calling as sistance. Thus, if the driller finds it necessary to leave the rig without any one in charge he can readily do so by throwing lever 49, which will act to positively hold the entire string, through the medium of the worm wheel and screw, and it will remain held in'this position until released, or the screw is turned. This is a ositive sustaining means, makin it impossible for the pipe to slip or drop t e drill into a crevice or 'overfeed, eliminating the danger of twisting 01f the pipe thereby. It will now be readily seen from the foregoing that it is never necessary to operate the quick hoist gearing simultaneously with the table, and that by means of a single lever the driller can p'erfectly control the rig without any assistant. In operating the feed screw 54 and worm 53 in feeding down the pipe in drilling, it is necessary that the clutch 22 be engaged with sprocket 16 to drive the table to rotate the drill pipe, and therefore the clutch 48 which controls the screw feed must be operated by lever\ 49, which is independent ofthe lever 26, which controls clutch 21, and these two levers must thus-be operated to produce this cotiperative gearing relation throughout the rig, but it is also possible to independently operate the lever 49 to cause the screw feed to be operative even when the table is not rotating, in order to secure the advantage of being able to sustain the pipe when the pipe is not being rotated as above pointed out, and without requiring the application of the brakes in order to make it possible for the driller to move about. It will be observed that the parts are. so interrelated and combined in this invention that it is pos- I sible to place all of the operating levers or instrumentalities in a'group, and thereby at the instant command of the driller.

Certain broad features of my invention are also applicable with advantage to rigs of cheaper construction adapted for use on shallow wells or light work, when a two speed hoist is not required. In Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive, I have shown a modified form, in which the screw feed, rotary table control are employed in such a rig. The construction is very similar to the preceding, and it will only be necessary to point out the differ-,/

ence. In the modified form 16 is the sprocket which drives the table, this being clutched or unclutched from the counter shaft 17 by a hand lever 26 through the medium of a-mechanism precisely similar to the foregoing. The brakes are operated independently by respective brake levers 38, 38", which respectively operate cranks 35, 37, to which the brake bands 32, 33*} are connected. Sprocket20 is connected with tilting it as indicated in Fig. 8.

first sprocket with the'counter-shaft. 1 3O lever for rotating the drum or for rotating tively prevent rotation of the drum'to sustain the drill pipe when said first sprocket is the engine and sprockets 43 45 and chain 44* constitute thehoist gearing for driving the drum 28 53 is the worm wheel engaged by the screw 5?, the latterin thisform being mounted on a bracket 57, which is pivoted at 57 to the stationary bracket 57. The screw 54 may-be thrown into or out of mesh with the worm wheel 53 by In either form of the invention, on each end of the counter shaft 17 is a cat head 62 for lighthoisting, such as lifting the heavy tools about, around the derrick, etc. In operating cither'of the cat heads 62, both hoist gearings are disconnected so that the drum is not operated.

What I claim is 1. In a rotary drilling rig, a rotary table, a rotary table shaft, means for driving the rotary table from the shaft, a countershaft, a sprocket loosely mounted on the counter-shaft, a sprocket rigidly mounted on the rotary table shaft, a stationary clutch member, a clutch member splined on said rotary table shaft, a lever for engaging the latter clutch member with the first clutch member to lock the table, a chain connecting said sprockets, and means for clutching said 2. In a rotary drilling rig, a rotary table, a rotary table shaft, means for driving the rotary table from the shaft, a counter-shaft, a sprocket. loosely mounted on the countershaft, a sprocket rigidly mounted on the rotary table shaft, a chain connectingsaid sprockets, means for clutching said first sprocket with the counter-shaft,, a drum shaft, a. drum rigid threommeans for driving the drum shaft from said. counter-shaft, a worm wheel loose on the drum shaft, a screw engaging the worm wheel, and a lutch for engaging the Worm wheel with the drum shaft to enable the drum to be manually controlled by the screw feed to feed the drill pipe .while the rotary table is operating, said worm and screw also being operable to posi unclutched fromthe counter-shaft and the table is stationary. I

3. In a rotary drilling rig,

a drum, and means controlled by a single thetable. v (I. In a rotary drilling ,a' rotary table,- a drum, and means contro ledby a1 single drum. 5." In. a rotary drilling rig, a rotary table,

a drum, a counter-shaft, gearing between the counter-shaftand tablef-for driving the table,

a. rotary table, y

' a drum rigid thereon, a worm wheel loose on caring. between the co. ter shaft anddru or driving. the drum, -means; for rencounter-shaft and table for driving the table,

gearing between the counter-shaft and drum for driving the drum, and means for rendering the first gearing stationary to permit the drum to rotate independent thereof.

7. In a rotary drilling rig, a countershaft, a rotary table, a drum, gearing between the counter-shaft and drum for rotating the drum, gearing between the countershaft and table for rotating the table, a cathead on said counter-shaft, and means for rendering both said gearing stationary while the counter-shaft and cat-head rotate.

8. In a rotary drilling rig, a drum, a counter-shaft, gearing for driving the drum from the counter-shaft, two brake bands for engaging the drum, a lever, means operated by said lever for actuating both brake bands,

another lever adjacent the first lever, and

means operated by the second lever for controlling said gearing.

9. In a' rotary drilling rig, a drum shaft, a drum thereon, a worm wheel, a screw engaging the worm wheel, a brake for controlling the. rotation of the drum, and a clutch for connecting said worm Wheel with the drum shaft to control the drum by the screw when the brake is released, and to dis connect the worm wheel from the drum shaft when the brake is operated.

10. In a rotary drilling rig, a drum shaft, a drum thereon,'a worm wheel loose onsa'id drum shaft, a screw engaging said worm Wheel, and a clutch for engaging and disengaging said worm wheel with said drum shaft.

11. In a rotary drilling rig, a drum shaft, a drum rigid thereon, a worm-wheel loose on said drum shaft, a screw engaging the worm wheel, a sprocket loose on the drum shaft, a counter-shaft, a sprocket on the countershaft,a chain connecting said sprockets, a I lever, and means operated by said lever for engaging either the worm wheel or first sprocket with said drum shaft, or disengaging them both from said drum shaft.

12. In a rotary dr'illingrlg, a drum shaft,

the drum shaft, a counter-shaft, a sprocket rigid on the counter-shaft, a sprocket loose on thedrum' shaft, a chain connecting said sprockets, the first sprocket having a clutch l member, the wormrwheel having a clutcdi member, a double clutch member splined on the .(lrum'shaft between said clutch members, and a lever for operating the double. clutch member.

'13.,I'n a rotary drilling rig, a counter- Shaft,- a drum shaft, a drum on the drum shaft, a; fixed sprocket on the counter-sh'aft,

a loose sprocket on the drum shaft, a chain connecting said sprockets, a clutch" for engaging the loose sprocket-with the drum shaft, a lever for operating said clutch, a

sprooketloose on the counter-shaft, a sprocket fixed on the drum shaft, a chain connecting said sprockets, a clutch for engaging the latter loose sprocket with the Countepshaft,

I and a lever for operating the latter clutch.

shaft, a rota 14. In a rotary drilling rig, a countersha-ft, a drum shaft, a drum on the drum shaft, a fixed sprocket on the counter-shaft, a loose sprocket on the drum shaft,a chain connecting\ said sprockets, a worm wheel loose on t e drum shaft, a screw engaging said worm wheel, a clutch for engaging the loose sprocket or-said worm wheel with the drum shaft, a lever for operating said clutch, a sprocket loose on the counter shaft, a sprocket fixed on the drum shaft, a chain connecting said sprockets, a rotary table table driven by the table shaft, a sproc et rigid on the table shaft, another loose sprocket on the counter-shaft, av clutch for engaging the latter loose sprocket or the 1 former loose sprocket, with shaft, a sprocket rigid on the table shaft, an-- other loose sprocket on the counter-shaft, a clutch for engagin the latter loose sprocket with the counter-s aft, and a lever for operating the latter clutch.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 6th day of October, 1913.

'T'noMAs J. GRIFFIN.

In presence of Geo. T. HAOKLEY, LORRAINE E. DURROW. 

